AZALEA'S POVWe called it a night and decided that we’d thoroughly plan everything out the following day. Brantley agreed to explain to my uncle and Simiyan exactly what he’d told us. We let them be as we fetched the twins, before heading to our room. They were already fast asleep, much to our relief.We put them down and sat on the bed, leaning against the headboard, with me cuddled into his side. “Clay, talk to me.”I could feel the anger rolling off of him in waves. “He deserves none of this.”“I know, but things have turned out this way,” I replied.“That first two years after we left the castle, it was hell Lea. I wasn’t strong enough to carry myself, and yet I had to be strong enough for the both of us. It changed me forever, and I still haven’t fully dealt with that part of my life. To know that it could be happening again…” he trailed off.I took his hand in mine. “Hey, it’s not happening again. We won’t let it happen again.”He growled lowly. “She’s supposed to love him as he
AZALEA'S POVI couldn’t stop the laugh that left me. “You need our help? After everything you’ve done?”She wasn’t particularly fazed though. “Let me rephrase. I am here to help you, because helping you helps me.”“But you’re not going to make things easy for us,” Brantley repeated.When her gaze landed on him, she softened. “My darling boy.”“I’m not here for you,” he was quick to retort.She sighed. “There are many things you don’t understand, and I do not blame you. It is entirely my fault, and I hope that one day you will believe that I never meant for any of this to happen.”“Who is my father?” Brantley asked her.“You’re a Lycan Brantley. Continue to live your life with that lie, and you will remain safe,” she told him.“His father isn’t a Lycan,” I deduced.She turned to me. “Aragon and Valencia’s smarts definitely didn’t go to waste over here.”“You’re clearly not going to give him any answers, so I’ll ask. Why did you try and control him?” I asked.“I did nothing of the sort,
PIXIE’S POVThe tension between Azalea and Clayton was known and felt by everyone within hours since the two of them refused to be in the same space together. They wanted to train separately, and my father and I ended up having to switch things up with the schedule and training, with the boys training together, and us girls training together.With it being the last day for training, we didn’t want it wasted on a lover’s quarrel.I understood where both parties were coming from. It was just both parties refusing to listen to each other. Did Clayton have a valid reason for freaking out the way he did? Probably. Did he handle it in the best way? Not even close. Is what Azalea is doing with Simoa a terrible idea? Maybe. Will everyone be on board with it?Not a chance!Either way, I was siding with her. She had a point about learning from her mistakes, so I believe her when she says that she’s being careful about this. I also believe her because I know for a fact that there’s something she
AZALEA’S POV“Now, I’m obviously not going to take you through the entire history since we don’t have the time, but I will teach you about the three most important women to the two of you – your grandmother, and your mothers.”Simiyan was coming with us since my uncle wanted her to finally know the truth about Erea. He was going to be giving her and I a brief background since Pixie already knew that much, and then he’d be letting us in on what we really wanted to know.We arrived at a huge door with a pin pad and biometric scanner on it. “These are the royal archives, and only us as royals, together with a select staff, have access to these archives.”We nodded in understanding and he turned around and first entered a password on the pin pad, before getting his entire face scanned. It was fascinating watching the whole thing, but not as fascinating as what was behind the doors.The place was like a mix between a library, a museum, and an art gallery. Everything was organized in its pl
AZALEA'S POV“What do you mean?” Pixie and I asked when Simiyan also started laughing.“When I met Valencia, I knew there was something peculiar about her. Now that I think about it, it’s the same feeling I had with Pixie. Her aura was hidden, and instead it resembled that of a Lycan. This was long before she was gifted her Lycan. In the kingdom, everyone knew her to be Aragon’s best friend, but they also didn’t quite understand her. She was, eccentric, for the lack of a better word, so that puzzled them, especially when she was such an opposite to Aragon’s calm nature. Much like Azalea and Clayton now, the two were just complete opposites. The people could accept her as Aragon’s best friend, but once it was announced that she was his mate, the news wasn’t exactly received well. Many wondered if Aragon was rebelling against his father since their spats had become public knowledge, and yet, it was Valencia who ended up selling Aragon as the better leader to the people. She stood beside
CLAYTON’S POVDespite it being alcohol from another dimension, it did nothing to soothe the feelings coursing through me. Everyone around me was in a joyous mood, while I was just downright annoyed.Especially watching her laughing with everyone but me.She and Titus were out on the balcony, and they happened to be out of earshot, but definitely in my line of vision. I felt the same irritation I felt when she first arrived at the pack house with Titus.The very same Titus who was dying of laughter at whatever she was telling him.It didn’t make things any better that my beast was no longer speaking to me. He was just as pissed off at me as our mate was, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that he was being moody.I knew I was right.We try so hard to put plans into place to ensure that we don’t face any unnecessary danger, only for Azalea to go off on whatever whim she feels in the moment without a care for the consequences.I just don’t understand her
AZALEA’S POVI knew that if I stayed a second longer, I would’ve lost it. I didn’t even care that my father was somehow here. I just wanted out of the same space as Clayton before I truly lost my cool.I headed back outside, willing the scream to stay inside of me. Instead, I started pacing uncontrollably. In fact, it must’ve been comical how insane I looked. I was flicking my fingers non-stop, and laughter is what brought me to a stop as Titus and Thane chuckled.“We heard the growl and we knew you somehow had something to do with it,” Thane teased.“That was my dad,” I pointed out.“Who probably growled because of you and Clayton,” Titus added.“Whatever!” I huffed.Thane threw his arm around me. “What happened for the big man to be brought through anyway?”I didn’t respond immediately. “I may have told Clayton to just tell me if he doesn’t want me as a mate so that we go our separate ways now.”They were both silent, but the looks on their faces were enough to remind me of how seve
BENTLEY’S POV“What do you mean she just disappeared?” Pixie’s dad asked Titus and Thane.“We mean one minute she was standing in front of us, and the next minute her eyes are glowing in those rainbow colours, and then poof! Gone!” Thane explained.Titus turned to Clayton. “She said she’s leaving to make irresponsible decisions and prove you wrong. She told us to tell you that even though you hate her, she loves you nonetheless.”Clayton’s eyes were instantly black, and we knew he’d been pushed aside by Beast. “I warned him. I can’t feel any of them anywhere.”“By anywhere, you mean…?” Pixie trailed off.“They’re not in Erea,” Beast replied.King Aragon shot a look at King Hayes. “I’m on it. I’ll check from the core.”When he’d left, Pixie was frowning, and I nudged her. “What is it?”“I’m just having a tough time pinning Shaylah,” she replied.“What do you mean?” Bennett asked her.“At first, we thought that she’s a healer, but she’s exhibiting powers way beyond that,” she explained.
AZALEA’S POV“I can’t believe two years into your marriage and you’re still pulling these stunts!”“How else am I supposed to keep the romance alive?”“He’s going to kill you, you know that much, right?”“He wouldn’t kill me while my dad still lives.”“At this point, Hugh would welcome your death. You truly are a menace.”My mouth dropped as she giggled. “You don’t mean that!”“Oh, I believe it too. When they told me you’re a menace, I didn’t know just how right they are,” my aunt teased.“You all just hate me,” I argued.“No one hates you because you won’t even allow us to do that much,” my mother commented.I gasped, and the evil women just laughed at me. “I can’t believe you’re in on this too!”“You and I are connected, and while the reason why is still a myth to all of us, at no point in my life did I swear to stand by your foolishness, especially when it involves tormenting that poor sweet boy,” Simoa stated.“There’s nothing sweet about him. You guys just don’t get to see how he
CLAYTON'S POV“I underestimated Eligor’s memory spell. I was desperate to explain myself and my actions, and to ask for forgiveness. I wasn’t sure if going to Aragon would help, so I went to the only other two people who knew me better than he did. Avril and Val were my best friends, so I thought if I could get them to understand, then they’d help me make sense of everything and help me deal with my new reality. I was lost, and in pain, and I just needed someone to understand me, except it was in that moment that I realized it would never happen. If the people closest to me couldn’t remember me, then I had no one. I was officially all alone,” Alyx explained.“What happened? Where have you been all this time?” her brother asked her.“After what happened with Avril, I knew I had to find a way to control what I’d become. I got some of Eligor’s powers through our mating, and they helped me to an extent. I found out he was abusing the Xeglan, and they asked for my help in keeping them from
CLAYTON’S POVOnce King Brennus lifted the spell from them, it was decided that we should head back while their memories started to trickle in. With everything over, the packs had been instructed to stack the dead hybrids and burn them.We suffered a couple of casualties and injuries on our side, and it was decided that the bodies of the dead would be put aside and we’d have a funeral for them the following day. We needed to let everything settle down first.With Eligor out of the picture, King Brennus ordered the Xeglan to return to Advalur, and they happily complied, while the Xeglan hybrids were imprisoned. At the end of the day, they were traitors, and it would be decided later what we’d be doing with them.Azalea led her aunt to our room, refusing to leave her side, while Pixie was quickly at mine. “You’re coming with us.”I followed after her, and she led me to a room with our friends in it, including Brantley and Bentley. “When did you guys get here?”“That’s not important! Wha
AZALEA'S POVThe turned Lycan looked my way. “I’m the source of a lot of your problems. With me out of the way, you stand a better chance of taking over this kingdom, but you’re going to have to catch me first.”I closed my link to my family and friends as I turned and made a run for it. I could hear him following after me, as well as my family following after him. I had absolutely no clue what I was doing, or what the plan was, but this distraction was giving me some time to think.And before I knew it, I was running past the border and into the Forgotten Lands.Being here, I knew that only Eligor, Clayton, King Brennus, Greier, and my aunt could follow after me. My father and Clayton’s father didn’t have the bracelets on them, so they’d be affected if they came through.I finally let my mate through our link as he ran in after me, shifted back and changed into shorts. “Now what?”“I have no idea, but I know this is where everything has to end,” I told him just as Eligor’s beast grow
AZALEA’S POVShe looked more badass than she had in the vision. Confusion surrounded us as we watched everyone wondering why the Xeglan hybrids weren’t fighting, and who the woman was. Much like in the vision, she was preceded by smoke, and when it cleared, I could see recognition from our inner circle.“It’s her. It’s the woman from the painting,” Pixie was the one to state.“It’s Alyx, isn’t it?” Cleo asked, but no one responded.Instead, we watched as Eligor took in his mate, surprised to see her in her true form. “You can control the faces?”“I can do a lot more than that, but I’m not here to tell you all about that,” she told him.“Well, it’s about time we joined hands and finally took over the kingdom as planned,” he smiled, walking over to her.She put her hand out. “You either didn’t hear me, or you’re choosing to ignore what I said. I’m here to stop you.”It was a slight opening in his emotions as the vulnerability showed on his face. “Tell me that these people aren’t right.
CLAYTON’S POV“Avril and Valencia were my closest friends. Lost as I was, I thought if I went to explain myself to them, they’d understand, but I underestimated Eligor’s spell. They really had no idea who I was, and the changing faces and my changed form weren’t helpful. That’s when I realized that I needed to learn how to control the faces and my body.”Azalea was crying beside me, and I put my arm around her. “Where was Eligor during all this?”“I didn’t want anything to do with him, and he agreed to give me my space. However, in that time apart, I realized that my love for him was turning to hatred. Every time he checked in on me, he would let me know about his efforts to undo what he’d done, but I’d already lost too much. Being with him didn’t feel like something I wanted to do anymore, so I kept to myself. One thing I got through our mating is some of his powers, and I used them to travel the dimensions, learning as much as I could about what they knew about shapeshifters. I also
AZALEA’S POVThere she was.She was dressed in a dark emerald dress, and there was smoke around her, but I knew it was her. The same eyes I’d seen in the painting were looking straight at me. She was unmoving, showing no emotion on her face.“It’s her.”I didn’t know if I could even bring him with me, but I was relieved to look to my side and find Clayton there. “Do we go to her?”He shook his head. “We wait for her.”I agreed, and we waited. Before getting pulled in, we moved off the battlefield, hiding, and I could only hope that we’d stay hidden given the fact that we had no idea what was going on outside this vision.After a while, she finally moved towards us. I unintentionally squeezed Clayton’s hand a little harder, and he put his other hand on top of mine. I looked up at him, and I knew what he was telling me through his eyes.He was with me, and he had my back.She walked until she stood before us. Much like I’d felt back in the castle, it felt like I was looking at an older
CLAYTON’S POV“Report?” my father asked.“They’re coming from the direction of the castle, so we can confirm that it’s Eligor and his army. There hasn’t been any movement from the Forgotten Lands,” his man reported.My father nodded. “Take to the skies and stay there waiting for my command.”“And Isaiah?” the man asked.“Tell him to stay where he is,” my father replied.The man nodded before leaving. “What’s going on Hunter?”“Like Theo just said, Eligor is headed this way with his army. There’s no word from Alyx’s side,” my father replied.I was about to ask a question when my mind link was prodded. “CLAYTON!”“Simoa?” I asked.“Yes, it’s me. Where is your mate?” she asked.“She’s here with me. Why?” I countered.“Eligor is on his way. I have been trying to let her know, but I haven’t been able to reach her,” she huffed.I turned to my mate. “Love, is there anything going on with your link to Simoa?”I heard the murmuring, but I didn’t care for it as my mate scowled. “I can’t feel he
AZALEA'S POV“Are you sorted?” I asked him.He nodded. “Ariel and Cleo are directing everyone here. Greier and the Lyca will join us shortly. Your uncle linked to say there’s a bit of a delay with the archives, but that he’ll be here as soon as he has the information with him.”“Should we maybe not talk to our people before they get here?” Clayton suggested.“He’s got a point Aragon. While we may be understanding of how you reached the decisions that you did, your people may not be,” Clayton’s dad joined us.“I’ll address them once they’ve all assembled,” my father agreed.As expected, our pack members were the first to assemble, and I could see the pride on my mate’s face at seeing his people still as efficient as ever. The pack members of The Rebelution were officially the pack members of the royal pack.I had read up on the royal pack, with my father answering any more questions that I had. Apparently, the royal pack that he was Alpha of was either taken over by Eligor, or those wh